Now Drinking

Yes, Canada does produce wine. Most of it is in southern British Columbia or southern Ontario. In Ontario, the Niagra penninsula, between lake Ontario and the Niagra river. Pelee Island is the southernmost point in Canada. It is an island in Lake Erie south of the Pennisula known as Point Pelee. It’s a unique enviroment, being an island in a large inland body of water. It is are famous for ice wine, but Pelee produces an impressive array of table wines as well.

The wine is light gold. Three years in the bottle no doubt contributed a great deal to its present color, that’s is close to the upper limit for Rieslings. The nose is rich, heavy on the apples and apricots. It’s fairly heavy on the palate, too, for a Riesling.

But when I first opened the bottle, the sweetness of it shocked me. Since it is labeled as a “Late Autumn Riesling” I expected it to be sweet, but this is a different kinda sweet. It tastes like there has been sucrose, table sugar, added. This is not a rare thing, it’s even done in Riesling’s home turf, Germany, but it tends to be something of a distraction. This is done to sweeten up wines that may not have had enough time to fully ripen on their own, a chronic problem in places like Canada and Northern Europe, even for a late bloomer like Riesling. Nevertheless, after a sit in the fridge overnight, this sugary sweetness has disapated (or I’ve gotten used to it) and it now seems to be much more drinkable. The apple has taken the lead, though, Paula or Gala apples specifically.

Overall, not a bad wine for drinking on its own, if you have a bit of a sweet tooth.